This lecture will attempt to identify some of the causes of imperfections in real pile foundations, and will then examine their possible effects on pile behavior. The imperfections considered arise from two main sources, natural imperfections caused by the geological circumstances, and imperfections related to the construction of the piles. In each case, single piles are considered first, and then pile groups are addressed separately. Case histories are presented to illustrate the effects on pile performance which are predicted by theoretical analyses. The analyses with which these examinations are carried out will still inevitably involve some degree of idealization, but at least attempt to incorporate the key non-ideal aspects. The lecture also discusses the particular problems involved in investigating and analyzing under-performing pile foundations, and will review some methods by which the consequences of imperfections may be overcome or ameliorated.

About Harry Poulos

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Professor Harry Poulos graduated in Civil Engineering from the University of Sydney in 1961, obtained his PhD in 1965, and was awarded the degree of D.Sc. Eng. by the University in 1976. He joined the Department of Civil Engineering at Sydney University in 1965, and was appointed a Professor in 1982, a position that he held until his retirement in November 2001. In 2002, he was appointed an Emeritus Professor of the University.

In 1989, he joined the consulting firm of Coffey Partners International, and is currently a Senior Principal of Coffey Geosciences and Chairman of the Technical Development Group.

He was the 1989 Rankine Lecturer, and has given a number of other important lectures, including the 1987 E.H. Davis Lecture, the 1988 Jaeger Memorial Lecture, the 1996 Schiffman Lecture, the 1997 Ardaman Lecture, the 2000 Buchanan Lecture, the 2001 Chin Fung Kee Lecture, the 2002 Sowers Lecture, the 2002 Casagrande Lecture of the Boston Society of Civil Engineers, the 2002 Jennings Memorial Lecture, and the 2004 Terzaghi Lecture.

He was Australasian Vice-President of the International Society of Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering from 1989 to 1994, and is currently an appointed Member of the Board of the International Society of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering.

He was elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science in 1988 and the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering in 1996, and is a Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers, and an Honorary Fellow of the Institution of Engineers Australia. In 1993, he was made a Member of the Order of Australia for his services to engineering, and was awarded a Centenary Medal by the Australian Government in 2003. He was selected as Australian Civil Engineer of the Year in 2003 by the Institution of Engineers Australia, and Geotechnical Practitioner of the Year for 2004 by the Australian Geomechanics Society.